Re: horizantal ridge on nails, and circles on fingers

: I have had a problem with my hands/nails for about 5 years now. I am 49, fibromyalgia, history of arthritis in family. I started getting small circles on my fingertips which would get bigger be a touch raised and slightly hard then get bigger and open up. There is no oozing etc, but underneath will crack slightly and be so tender. It has been getting worse over the years, but mainly stays on my fingers, some on my palm. It goes in a cycle of starting many small circles, then get bigger, open up, where I can peel away some skin, be terrible sore, then heal sort of, then start all over again, some in same spots, some in new. Also as my fingernails grow, they grow with a horizantal ridge which you can feel as you run your finger over it. It starts to crack open and the nail breaks off as soon as it gets to the edge of the nail bed. I have been to a derm. and was given a cortisone oily cream called nerosine and prevex B, which provides a fine layer over the hands. My hands are so sore, creams don't work. I wear gloves a lot, and it looks really awful. The soreness is the most aggravating part. I have been searching websites for quite a while now, and just can't find a combination of these two things. Any help would be so much appreciated. I am going to try another dermatologist, but it is hard getting an appt. when it is at it's worse. I feel that it is a result of something internal, as the nail grows this way. I take Vit. B stress vit., Vit E., vit. c. and a multivitamin, also Cal/Mag. Do you have any ideas?

: Please send them to me or post,

: Thanks so much: Melody.

Hi Melody,

While taking a supplement for arthritis in both knees, I have noticed an improvement in my fingernail condition. Although I never had a major problem, they had a couple of ridges and were prone to peeling and hangnails. I take MSM, short for methylsulfonyl-methane. You can check out a lot of info on the net if you search under MSM. Also there is a good book on it.It is entirely nontoxic. Read up - I think it's helping me and the nail thing seems to be another good extra!I have just recommended it to a friend who has extremely bad nail problems - we'll see.